Olympic wrestling champion Balboshin recounts crushing opponents' hands with grip

Five-time world champion and 1976 Olympic gold medalist Nikolai Balboshin shared stories about his legendary grip strength in an interview. Balboshin explained that he could gauge opponents' strength through pre-match handshakes and would strategically squeeze their forearms during matches to stop blood flow and cause swelling. He recounted instances where opponents' hands became so swollen they couldn't continue fighting, with one wrestler shouting "hand is dead!" during a match. At a medical examination, Balboshin broke a dynamometer that measured up to 120 units after exceeding its maximum capacity. Perhaps most memorably, he claims to have made the King of Sweden's fingers crunch during a medal ceremony at the 1977 World Championships when he deliberately squeezed the monarch's hand to leave a lasting impression.